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Conviction in case of ‘Baby Doe,’ girl whose remains found in trash bag

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Updated: 11:42 AM EDT Jun 26, 2017

Conviction in case of ‘Baby Doe,’ girl whose remains found in trash bag

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Updated: 11:42 AM EDT Jun 26, 2017

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WEBVTT WHAT THEY ARESAYING RIGHT NOW.>> INDICTMENT OF 15 -- CHARGINGMICHAEL MCCARTNEY WITH MURDER.GUILTY OF MURDER IN THE SECONDDEGREE OR GUILTY OF INVOLUNTARYMANSLAUGHTER.>> GUILTY OF MURDER IN THESECOND DEGREE.>> I MAY CONFIRM THEM VERDICT,YOUR HONOR.>> YOU UPON YOUR OATH, DO SAYTHAT MICHAEL MACCARTHY IS GUILTYOF MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE?SO SAY ALL MEMBERS OF THE JURY?>> YES.>> TAKE A SEAT.LOG ENOUGH FOR ME TO THANK YOUON MY OWN BEHALF.JURY SERVICE IS ONE OF THEPRIVILEGES OF OUR CITIZENSHIP.YOU ARE ASKED TO FIND AND SPEAKTHE TRUTH.IT IS HARDLY AN EASY TASK, ASYOU KNOW.IT REQUIRES SIFTING THROUGHCONFLICTING PIECES OF EVIDENCE,CONSIDERING AND WEIGHING THETESTIMONY OF DIFFERENTWITNESSES, AND RESOLVINGDIFFICULT QUESTIONS.WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR THATTREMENDOUS SERVICE YOU HAVEPERFORMED HERE AND THECONTRIBUTION YOU HAVE MADE TOTHE -- OF JUSTICE.I WILL BE JOINING YOU SHORTLYTOGETHER WITH THE ALTERNATES,MEETING WITH YOU UPSTAIRS.TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOUMIGHT HAVE, RECEIVE ANY FEEDTHAT AS TO HOW WE MIGHT DOTHINGS BETTER.I WILL ALSO ANSWER ANYQUESTIONS ABOUT THE LAW.THE CONTENTS OF THE DELIBERATIONWAS CONFIDENTIAL AND I DO NOTWANT TO HEAR ABOUT ANYTHINGABOUT HOW YOU REACHED YOURDECISION.THE SECOND THING, IS ANY OPINIONYOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THE VERDICTEERIE AT .I HAVE NO OPINION.

Conviction in case of ‘Baby Doe,’ girl whose remains found in trash bag

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Updated: 11:42 AM EDT Jun 26, 2017

BOSTON —

A man was convicted Monday of second-degree murder in the death of a 2-year-old girl known as "Baby Doe" after her body washed up on a Boston Harbor island.

Michael McCarthy was charged in the 2015 killing of Bella Bond, his girlfriend's daughter. A computer-generated image of the girl was shared by millions on social media after she was dubbed Baby Doe by authorities trying to determine her identity.

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A jury deliberated for five days before returning the guilty verdict.

Prosecutors had charged McCarthy with first-degree murder, but the judge said jurors could also consider two lesser charges -- second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Under a second-degree murder conviction, a person is eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison.

Bella's mother, Rachelle Bond, and her then-boyfriend, McCarthy, were arrested in September 2015 after Bond told a friend McCarthy had killed her daughter. Bond pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact for helping McCarthy dispose of Bella's body.

Bond testified during the trial, a requirement of her plea agreement, and said that she saw McCarthy punch the child in the stomach. The girl was on the bed at the time, according to Bond, and Bond said her whole body bounced with the force of the blow.

Bond said McCarthy also threatened to kill her when she tried to leave the room with the girl's body.

In a later discussion, Bond said she asked McCarthy what he did.

"He said, 'It was her time to die. She was a demon,'" she testified.

McCarthy's lawyer said it was Bond who killed the girl. Defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro focused on trying to undermine Bond's testimony. He said that she killed the child and called her statements during five days of testimony, "a web of lies."

"Rachelle Bond made up the story she told you," he said. "The story she told was clearly made up to cover her own guilt."

Assistant District Attorney Deakin emphasized to the jury that they must not judge McCarthy, Bond and the other individuals involved in the case as a group of addicts. He urged them to weigh the facts in the evidence and rule out bias or conjecture.

The prosecution finished with stern assertions that dumping a body in a bag only affirms guilt, and not innocence.